Sign of Things to Come?
In the grand scheme of things, this isn't too important. But it is revealing. Barack Obama has the demeanor of a genuinely nice guy. Underneath it, however, is a ruthless politician with a sweeping left agenda, who isn't interested in nice traditions to the extent that they constrain him in any way. He's smart, and he knows that there is political advantage to be had by contrasting his positions with those of the President. What's more, he knows that the fact that the substance of such conversations isn't usually revealed is inside baseball about which no regular voter will care.
I believe that this is a pattern that will repeat again and again and again. President Obama will say all the right things, while cutting corners -- as much as he can get away with -- on any constraints to shoving his agenda through. The pretty talk of hope and change shouldn't fool anyone. He is a hard-core partisan who is happy to roll anyone in his way, so long as it doesn't alienate the voters he'll need in four years.
For eight years, we've heard about the ruthlessness of the Bush administration. Ha. Compared to Obama, it will be clear that both President Bush and John McCain played by Marquess of Queensbury rules.